1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure generally relates to credit files. More specifically, this disclosure relates to locking and unlocking credit files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Credit bureaus provide consumers with the ability to lock or unlock, also referred to as freezing and thawing, respectively, their credit files in order to prevent information in a credit file from being accessed. When the file is unlocked, information in the file can be accessed, for example by creditors that wish to perform credit checks.
Typically, a consumer provides information to a credit bureau that confirms their identity, as well as possibly a lock/unlock identifier (e.g., a number or alphanumeric code) in order to initiate locking or unlocking of their credit file. Unfortunately, this can be inconvenient because the consumer may need to memorize a separate identifier that is provided by the credit bureau for each credit bureau that maintains a credit file for the consumer. Moreover, if the consumer forgets an identifier he or she may need to request a new identifier by, for example, phone or certified mail from the credit bureau, which can result in a delay in locking their file. Additionally, when the consumer wishes to unlock their file they may need to wait a specified period of time, often three days, for the file to be unlocked. Besides imposing risks to a consumer's credit file, these delays may cause lenders, such as those looking to provide instant credit, to lose out on credit opportunities.
In merchant environments, such as department stores, credit file locking and unlocking can be especially problematic. For example, a store may offer a credit card to a consumer at a point of sale. The consumer may decide that applying for the store card is not worthwhile because their credit file is locked and unlocking the file will take significant time and effort (e.g., the consumer may be required to call each of one or more credit bureaus and provide credit bureau specific credit file unlock codes to each credit bureau, and the credit unlocks may require significant time periods for implementation by respective credit bureaus). Alternatively, a consumer may apply for the store card using the credit application process, only to discover that their credit file is locked. In this situation, the consumer may then decide not to proceed further with the application process because additional effort will be needed to unlock their file. As a result, merchants may lose out on significant sales and credit opportunities.